The Marina Machans have signed defender Ajith Kumar from Bengaluru FC, the club has officialy announced the signing.
“Chennaiyin FC had shown keen interest in 25-year-old full-back Ajith Kumar and they were set to sign him from Bengaluru FC,” a source close to the development informed IFTWC.
About Ajith Kumar and his past tenures
Ajith Kumar’s rise is not a common story in Indian Football. He won multiple titles at the college level and was quickly selected to play in the Santosh Trophy. Having joined Chennai City FC through trials in 2018, Ajith Kumar was an important member of the team that won the 2018-19 Hero I-League season. The left-back featured in all games in the title-winning campaign.
Ajith won the I-League as an amateur in his first full professional season in the sport – playing all the 20 games in the campaign. He even experienced continental football last season before the pandemic brought the competition to a halt. Blessed with pace and stamina, the 23-year-old actually began his career as a left-winger before spending most of his time in the youth teams as a midfielder.
A native of Chennai, Ajith also played against Bengaluru FC in the quarter-final of the Hero Super Cup in 2019. He finished on the winning side as Chennai City FC beat Bengaluru FC 2-1, and Ajith especially was a menace down the left flank against the Blues. The defender made his Hero ISL debut with Bengaluru FC during the 2020-21 season.
Ajith was not always a defender, however, like most kids, he grew up wanting to be part of the action at the other end of the pitch – creating chances and scoring goals. While the I-League title is the biggest trophy of his career, Ajith says he wasn’t alien to being a champion right from when he began.
He captained his college and university teams and won the inter-university championship. He played for three clubs, across divisions, in Chennai and won three titles. His form and success also saw him get picked for the Santosh Trophy squad – the only level that has seen him miss out on adding to his trophy cabinet.
Chennaiyin FC have been very active in the ongoing summer transfer market. With plenty of departures already taken place from the last season’s squad, the team has also signed many new players to fill the places of the departed players.
For instance, Deepak Devrani, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Vishal Kaith, Germanpreet Singh, and Davinder Singh have left the club. Also, foreign players Slavko Damjanovic, Ariel Borysuik, Vladimir Koman, Nerijus Valskis, and Lukasz Gikiewicz have been bid farewell.
The Marina Machans have already roped in a list of domestic players like Vincy Baretto, Yumkhaibam Jiteshwor Singh, Aakash Sangwan, Mohammed Rafique, Gurmukh Singh, Sourav Das, Alexander Romario Jesuraj, Monotosh Chakladar, and Sajal Bag.
As far as the foreign players are concerned, Chennaiyin FC have already announced the signings of Iranian defender Vafa Hakhamaneshi, and Senegalese defender Fallou Diagne. Also, the club is set to complete the signing of Ghanian striker Kwame Karikari.
Having already retained Brazilian attacking midfielder Rafael Crivellaro, Chennaiyin FC have signed Croatian striker Peter Sliskovic and German midfielder Julius Düker to complete the foreign quota for the upcoming season.
The last couple of seasons have been very difficult for the side from Chennai, as they failed to make it to the playoffs for a second season running. But next season, under the tutelage of German coach Thomas Brdaric Chennaiyin FC with a newly formed team, will aim to go all out for the title and win it for the record third time.
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